The leaders of SAARC have vowed to collectively fight the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Setting the tone at the 16th SAARC Summit at Thimpu in Bhutan, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said, abhorrence of extremism, radicalism and terrorism are part of the region's civilisational heritage. He pledged to revive the South Asia once again as a source of new ideas, new knowledge and new opportunities based on mutual respect and tolerance.<br/><br/>In his address, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said, terrorism has affected the region and impacted each one of the members. Calling for a collective fight against the menace, he said, this toxic brew, under the garb of diverse ideologies and diverse agendas, has taken deep roots. Mr Gilani expressed hope that the forthcoming Meeting of the SAARC Interior Ministers in Islamabad would help strengthen cooperation in this vital area. <br/><br/>In a hard hitting speech, the Afghan President Mr. Hamid Karzai said, the terror attacks in the past two years in Kabul, Islamabad, Mumbai and elsewhere were yet again the gruesome reminder that terrorism continues to find place in this region. He urged the member states to set aside differences to decisively defeat terrorism. <br/><br/>Mr. Karzai, however added that SAARC nations will not be able to achieve this goal, until all members without exception or reservation commit not to allow their territories to be used directly or indirectly to shelter or train terrorist networks. <br/><br/>Bhutanese Prime Minister L.J.P Thinley in his inaugural address called for making full use of the SAARC Convention on suppression of Terrorism and its additional protocol and ratify the convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. <br/><br/>Similarly, the leaders of Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives also referred to the courage of terrorism afflicting the region and urged for collective action to root out the menace.<br/>